Mr. Wonderful's World » markorton

Frank Tadley and sister Betty show art work “Community Garden – Edgerton Park” at Aberjona Gallery

markorton — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 13:22:30 +0000

At the end of a whirlwind day in Cambridge and Framingham (client visit), Karen and I barely made it to an opening for a show of black and white photographs by Frank Tadley of the Community Garden at Edgerton Park (New Haven CT) (more here about the park) and color drawings of flowers and plants by his sister Betty. The art was great and we caught up with a number of friends. Frank has the whole series on display at his website.

Hudson Pride Parade and Rally

markorton — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 19:14:46 +0000

Most parades, like the Hudson Flag Day (6/12/10) (noted earlier here)are at best droll affairs with a somewhat cookie cutter format, content, and purpose. The Hudson Pride Parade, Rally and Tea Dance was quite different. It was a fun event. Along with the recent Prom King and Queen election at the high school (reported on here in the Register Star) it is clearly a marker of a maturing public acceptance and engagement with a wider range of people as they are, not as some might wish or imagine them to be.

We were a sponsor of this event through the gallery. And so we had our Hudson Pride flag out along with our usual BeLo3rd Open flag.

Karen was not available to take pictures and make movies, so you have to settle for my photographic efforts.

The parade was notable for its many groups of people with simple banners, paucity of floats, and almost complete avoidance of the usual herds of fire trucks and rescue vehicles. I admit to only being surprised at the large contingent from the Capital Area Pride Bowlers.

I particularly liked the crowd that gathered at the end of Warren and up onto Promenade Hill. Right size space and right size crowd. Still in Hudson instead of visually cut off down in Henry Hudson Park.

You should visit the website for the event, HudsonPride.com, and note the endless list of sponsors.

4th of July and Birthday

markorton — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 14:27:32 +0000

We had a 4th of July and Birthday Party for Andrea yesterday in Claverack. These pictures of Hudson Brown, aged 2+, at the cake and ice cream sum it up.

American Glory BBQ – revisited – web shenangins??

markorton — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 19:53:16 +0000

After my original note on the arrival of American Glory BBQ up the street in the 300 “restaurant” block of Warren St., I was astounded by the stream of comments in response. After the number of comments passed five (it is now 15!!), I became suspicious that some, perhaps most, are being posted by people other than mere patrons of this establishment. This single posting has drawn more comments than any in the three year history of my website (in its earlier six years there was no comment capability on the site). The most recent commenter even comes right out and alleges that some of these comments have appeared verbatim on other websites. I have not investigated this allegation. Nevertheless, I admit to my doubts.

Leaving all of this web daring do aside, the restaurant remains a welcome addition to Hudson. It brings more life to the street. Soon, I will go for a meal. Swoon, next door continues to live up to its status as a legend. I hope that American Glory BBQ will turn out to be a legend too.

Hudson Walks, Crosswalks, Handicap Ramps? – Update

markorton — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 19:27:32 +0000

Since my original note on crosswalks in Hudson, I have noticed that I am very much in error on this topic. Access ramps are quite common, just not always at the posted crosswalks.

Flag Day in Hudson – June 12th 2010

markorton — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 21:20:44 +0000

Karen took a bunch of pictures of the June 12th Flag Day fesitivities here in Huidson. She turned some into a movie.

For the uninitiated it is important to know that this parade and associated hoopla is the major public event of the year. Warren St. is filled end to end. The parade lasts for over two hours and the whole event is capped off with fireworks that run on and on a la Boston’s Fourth Fourth of July boondoggles.

Here is a link to Karen’s movie on the Davis Orton Gallery website.

Magnitka by Sasha Aleksandrov

markorton — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 20:41:32 +0000

Stumbled on this video. Taken in Magnitogorsk, Russia. Click on the full screen button for best viewing.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Hudson Walks, Crosswalks, Handicap Ramps?

markorton — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 15:19:22 +0000

Hudson held a formal opening for a refreshed pedestrian crosswalk at the Opera House on Warren St. Thursday 6/3/10. This was a big enough event to get a front page position in the local bleat, The Register Star, with its story, “City promotes health by kicking off ‘Foot Traffic Friday’”.

I am glad to see the first pedestrian right of way sign that I have ever seen here. These had become a common sight in Cambridge over the last decade and drivers for the most part had become accustomed to the indignity of having to stop.

Hudson, with its usually sparse traffic, offers plenty of opportunities for both pedestrians and cars to pretty much use the streets as they see fit. In fact, though I would never do this in NYC or less so in Boston, here I regularly cross the street in mid block with just a casual glance to the left for an oncoming car then, as I approach the mid point of the street, a right glance for cars coming from the opposite direction. But, now in the 300 block of Warren I will have to be back to minding my pedestrian manners.

As I was admiring the crosswalk I realized that neither side of the walk had ramps for handicapped access. Then, thinking about the sidewalks in Hudson in general, I realized that ramps at intersections and crosswalks are not to be found. How could it be that decades after legislation demanded access for handicapped people elsewhere, Hudson has not found opportunities to put them in just as part of normal maintenance?

Catching Up With Nyla and Noah – lots of action….

markorton — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 15:46:40 +0000

We drove down to the city Wednesday in time for a demonstration at Nyla’s dance class. Then, we went to Randall’s Island to catch a bit of Noah’s lacrosse practice. I had only seen Randall’s island from Manhattan and occasionally from the Triborough Bridge. The are one hundred fields for every imaginable sport there. Noah’s practice was at number 83. This is a short distance from the walking bridge to Manhattan at 103rd St. It appears that all of the playing fields are artificial grass. Great for maintenance and durability.

I could not get many good shots at Noah’s practice, lacking a telephoto lens.

Side Note:

Nyla is playing lots of tennis as are all of the family. Wicked backhand. I will get some action shots soon.

Noah being checked by coach

New Fence at 32 Warren St.

markorton — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 20:23:23 +0000

The 19th century cast iron fence at 32 Warren St. was seriously damaged a couple of months ago by an errant car. Fortunately good insurance and a diligent search for a company that could build a replica of the iron fence has produced results. The new sections of the fence contained a combination of steel, cast iron, and water-jet cut steel trim at the bottom. Welding the steel to the iron fence is not as easy as just cranking up your garage welder. Nevertheless, the craftsmen who performed the work made it look very easy.